The former Adelaide Crow sits just four goals shy of becoming Hawthorn’s second-most prolific no. 19 behind Jason Dunstall, with Ben Dixon’s career tally of 282 very much in the firing line in Saturday’s night clash with St Kilda. 

A haul of five goals would see Gunston jump to 12^th on the Hawks’ all-time goalkicking list, with teammate Luke Breust (320) and multiple-premiership greats Gary Buckenara (293) and Michael Tuck (320) all within striking distance.

A move to defence in the second half of last year’s campaign briefly stunted Gunston’s top-10 assault, but the return of James Frawley and Ben Stratton has freed the 26-year-old up to return to his favoured position.

“It was nice last year to change my role and try a few new things while we could - but I think I’m a natural forward,” Gunston said. 

“It’s good to be up there with the forward group we’ve got and it’s pleasing that we’re winning the ball in the midfield and playing some good footy - it’s always a bit easier to play up forward during those periods.

“We’ve got plenty of backmen down there that are doing a great job and we’ve got some exciting young guys like (Ryan) Burton and (James) Sicily down there that play good football so I’m more than happy to be up forward where I’ve done most of my football.”

After leaving Adelaide in 2011 with 20 goals to his name, Gunston reached 39 goals or more in his first five years at Hawthorn and kicked 50-plus in three consecutive seasons between 2014 and 2016.

Last year’s output of 19 marked Gunston’s lowest tally as a Hawk, but the rise of a new-look midfield led by Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara suggests the half-century mark is under threat once more.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play in a lot of very good sides here at Hawthorn.

“I’ve had some good service from a lot of the champion midfielders to give me a few goals and put me in good spots.”